2. Christmas Trees
• Many artificial trees are fire resistant. If you
buy one, look for a statement specifying this
protection.
A fresh tree will stay green
longer and be less of a fire
hazard than a dry tree. To
check for freshness, remember:

3. Christmas Trees
A fresh tree is green.
Fresh needles are hard to pull from branches.
When bent between your fingers,
fresh needles do not break.
The trunk butt of a fresh tree is
sticky with resin.
A shower of falling needles
shows that the tree is too dry.

4. Christmas Trees
• Place trees away from fireplaces, radiators,
and other heat sources.
• Keep the stand filled with water while the
tree is indoors.
• Place the tree out of the way of traffic and
do not block doorways.
• Keep a fire extinguisher handy in the tree
area.
• Remove the tree promptly if it becomes
dry.

5. Decorative Lights
• Inside or outside, use only lights that have been
tested for safety. Identify these by the label
from an independent testing laboratory.
•Check each set of lights, new or old,
for broken or cracked sockets, frayed
or bare wires, or loose connections.
Discard damaged sets or repair them
before using.

6. Decorative Lights
• Fasten outdoor lights securely to trees, house
walls, or other firm supports to protect them
from wind damage.
•Use no more than three
standard-size sets of lights per
single extension cord.
•Turn off all lights on trees and
other decorations when you go
to bed or leave the house. Lights
could short and cause a fire.

7. Decorative Lights
• Never use electric lights on a metallic
tree. The tree can become charged with
electricity from faulty lights, and any
person touching a branch could be
electrocuted! To avoid this danger, use
colored spotlights above or beside a
metallic tree, never fastened onto it!

8. Decorative Lights
• Keep "bubbling" lights away from children.
These lights with their bright colors and
bubbling movement can tempt curious children
to break candle-shaped lights.
The resulting broken glass is
dangerously sharp and allows
the escape of the liquid
which contains a hazardous
chemical.

9. Candle Safety
The National Fire Protection Association
(NFPA) found residential fires sparked by
candles are twice as likely to occur in
December than any other month in the year.

10. Candle Safety
• According to the National Fire
Protection Agency, candle fires
account for 2.4% of all fires and
result in 6% of total injuries
from fires and 3% of all
fatalities from fires.

11. Candle Safety
• Never leave burning candles unattended.
• Place candles well away from curtains, bedding
and other flammable materials.
• Keep candles away
from table decorations,
trees and other greenery.
• Don't place lighted
candles in windows.

12. Candle Safety
• Don't use candles to decorate a tree.
• Extinguish tapers when less than two inches tall.
• Extinguish all candles before
going to sleep.
• Always keep burning candles up
high, out of the reach of children.

13. TThhee FFiirreeppllaaccee
• Before lighting any fire, remove all greens,
boughs, papers, and other decorations
from the fireplace area.
• Check to see that the flue
is open.
• Before closing the flue,
be sure that the fire is out
completely.

14. TThhee FFiirreeppllaaccee
• Use care with "fire salts" which produce colored
flames when thrown on wood fires. They contain
heavy metals which can cause intense
gastrointestinal irritation or vomiting if eaten.
• Have your chimney inspected at
least once a year and cleaned if
necessary. Creosote, a chemical
substance that forms when wood
burns, builds up in chimneys and
can cause a chimney fire if not
properly cleaned.

15. TThhee FFiirreeppllaaccee
• Always use a fire screen and only burn material
appropriate for fireplaces. Avoid burning trash or
paper which can float up the chimney and onto the
roof or yard.
• Install at least one carbon monoxide detector
and a smoke detector in your home.
• Deposit ashes in a metal container. Remove
from the home because they may rekindle.

16. Portable and Other Space
Heaters
• Place all space heaters at least 36 inches away from
flammable materials, including wallpaper, bedding,
clothing, pets, and people.
• Do not leave space heaters
unattended or in use while
sleeping.
• Check electrical space
heaters for fraying or splitting
wires and overheating.

17. Portable and Other Space
Heaters
• Let a professional repair person correct all
problems before operating the space heater.
• Always use the proper fuel for liquid fueled
heaters.
• Be sure the heater is properly vented. All space
heaters should bear the label of an independent
testing laboratory.
• Never place articles for drying over space
heaters.

18. Holiday Cooking
• Never leave the kitchen unattended when
something is cooking on the stove. Always
turn pot handles inward to prevent small
children from reaching a hot pan.
• Don't store items on
the stove top - they could
catch fire.

19. Holiday Cooking
• Keep kitchen appliances clean and in good
condition. Turn off appliances after use.
• Don't overload electrical
outlets. Check appliances for
frayed or cracked
wires. Do not use
electrical appliances
in or near water.

20. Holiday Cooking
• Avoid loose-fitting clothing when cooking
such as long open sleeves which can easily
be ignited by hot burners.
• Be sure kitchen is well ventilated or keep a
window cracked to help prevent the build-up
of carbon monoxide from gas cooking
appliances.
• Equip kitchen area with smoke
detectors and fire extinguishers.

21. Decorations/Wrapping
Paper
• When making paper decorations, look
for materials labeled noncombustible
or flame-resistant.
• Never place trimmings near open
flames or electrical connections.

22. Decorations/Wrapping
Paper
• Remove all wrapping paper from the
tree and fireplace areas immediately
after presents are opened.
• Do not burn papers in the fireplace. A
flash fire may result as wrappings ignite
suddenly and burn
intensely.

23. Children's Toys
• Never hang toys with long strings, cords, loops
or ribbons in cribs or playpens where children
may become entangled. Remove crib gyms from
the crib once the child can pull up on hands and
knees; some children have strangled when they
fell on crib gyms stretched across the crib.

24. Children's Toys
• Broken toys may have
dangerous points or prongs.
• Stuffed toys may have wires
inside, which could cut or stab
if exposed.
• Even a toy as simple as a balloon, when
uninflected or broken, can choke or suffocate a
young child.
• Keep toys designed for older children out of
the hands of little ones.

25. Children's Toys
• Children should never be permitted to play with
adult lawn darts or other hobby or sporting
equipment that has sharp points.
• Children should be taught how to use electric toys
properly, and adult supervision is advisable because
electric toys can shock or burn
if they are improperly
constructed, incorrectly
wired, or abused.

26. Children's Toys
• Check all toys periodically for breakage and
potential hazards. On wooden toys, sand any
surfaces that may have become splintered or
edges that have become sharp.
• When repainting toys and
toy boxes, avoid using
leftover paint unless it was
purchased recently. Older
paints may contain more lead
than new paint.

27. Children's Toys
• Teach children to put their toys away safely
on reachable shelves or in a toy chest.
• Toy boxes, too, should be
checked for safety. Use a toy chest
with a lid that will stay open in any
position to which it is raised, and will
not fall on a child unexpectedly.

28. Shopping Safety/Parking
Lots In The Parking Lot
The mere act of parking your car in a busy shopping
mall parking lot can be a high-risk adventure. To protect
yourself:
• Go slow. Drive defensively and be patient.
• Watch for illuminated
taillights to spot cars pulling
out.
• Improper backing ranks as
the top cause of parking lot
mishaps.

29. Shopping Safety/Parking Lots
• Allow sufficient space when you pull into the
spot.
• Be prepared to yield the right of way.
• Always assume the pedestrian does not see you.
Without direct eye contact, you can't be sure.
Be extra careful at night.
• Drive no faster than 5 to 10 miles an hour in
parking areas, even if they are relatively empty.
Use your turn signals.

30. Shopping Safety/Parking Lots
• Walking To And From
• Try to park in well-lighted areas as close to the
front door of the store as possible.
• Avoid shopping alone.
• If you are worried about walking to
your car alone, ask a security guard
or a store employee to accompany
you.
• Have your keys in your hand before
you exit the store.

31. Shopping Safety/Parking Lots
• Body language is important. Look confident
and aware of your surroundings, as opposed to
preoccupied with your head
down and overloaded with
packages.
• Glance under the car when you
are approaching it. Check the back
seat before you enter.
• Lock the doors immediately once
you are inside.

32. Shopping Safety/Parking Lots
• Be particularly aware of your surroundings
while using an ATM.
• If you are accosted by a
robber, scream.
• On icy surfaces, wear shoes
with good traction and look
where you're going.

33. Shopping Safety/ Inside The
Store
• Escalators
• Do not place packages on the steps or balance
them on the handrails.
• Don't take carts, strollers, or wheelchairs on an
escalator.
• Never allow children to ride an escalator
unattended. Do not let them sit or drag their feet
along an escalator's side.
• Hold on to the handrail.
• If your hands are full, take the elevator.

34. Shopping Safety/ Inside The
Store
• Shopping Carts
• There are about 25,000 trips to emergency rooms
each year due to falls from shopping carts, most of
them involving young children.
• Shop where they have supervised play areas.
• Have your child wear a safety belt in the cart.
• Don’t let kids hang on the carts.
• Carts with infant carriers are more likely to tip
over due to a high center of gravity.

35. Holiday Party Time
• As host(ess) of a party, you can be held legally
responsible for injuries or damages that occur as
a result of the alcohol you have served, even
after your guests leave.
• You can reduce the risk to
yourself and your guests by
attempting to keep the
drinking to a moderate level.

36. Holiday Party Time
• Find out how guests will be going home from
your party. Be prepared to take away car keys.
• Promote the use of designated drivers and
encourage guests to leave their cars at home
and take public
transportation, cabs, or walk.
• Have cash and phone
Taxi
numbers ready for taxi
companies.

37. Holiday Party Time
• When your guests arrive by car, collect their car
keys. That way, when they are ready to leave,
you can give them a second opinion on whether
they are sober enough to drive home by
themselves.
• Serving food with drinks
and providing non-alcoholic
beverages will help people
stay sober as well.

38. Holiday Party Time
• Stop serving alcohol at least one hour
before the party is over. Make sure
coffee, alcohol-free drinks and food are
constantly available. Only time allows
the body to consume and rid itself of
alcohol.
• Plan to deal with any guest who
drinks too much. Before the party gets
going, ask someone reliable to help
you keep things under control.

39. Holiday Party Time
• Mix and serve drinks yourself or designate a
bartender instead of having an open bar. Avoid
serving doubles and keep shot glasses, jiggers or
self-measuring one-ounce bottle spouts handy to
measure drinks. Guests are less likely to over-drink
when standard measures are used.
• If you serve an alcoholic punch, use
a non-carbonated base such as fruit
juice. The body absorbs alcohol
faster when mixed with carbonation.

40. Holiday Party Time
• Always serve food along with alcohol. It is
always better to eat while drinking than to drink
on an empty stomach. High protein and high
carbohydrate foods like cheese, meats,
veggies, breads and light
dips are especially good.
They taste great and do not
make guests as thirsty as
salty, sweet or greasy
foods do.

41. Holiday Party Time
• If you observe a guest drinking too much:
- engage him/her in conversation to slow down drinking.
- offer high protein food like pizza, shrimp or spareribs.
- offer to make the next drink using less alcohol, mixing it
with a non-carbonated base or give them no alcohol at
all.
• Do not plan physical
activities when you serve
alcohol. Mishaps occur
more often after drinking.

42. Impaired Drivers
• Your best defense against a drunk driver is to wear
your safety belt and be sure children are properly
secured in child safety seats.
• Never ride in a car with someone who has been
drinking -- call a cab or ask a friend to drive you
home.
• Report drunk drivers immediately to
area law enforcement with the license
plate number, description of the vehicle,
and the direction in which it was
traveling.

43. Impaired Drivers
• Keep a safe distance from anyone driving
erratically and do not try to intervene
yourself.

44. Stay Safe This Holiday
and
Make Another Year
Count!!
USAG RC and Area I
SAFETY